New Jerseyans Divided on State Takeover of Atlantic City and New Casinos Elsewhere in State
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Atlantic City’s financial situation continues to worsen, but a bare majority of New Jerseyans believes the state should not intervene, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. When told that current legislation would enable a state takeover of Atlantic City to stabilize its finances, 51 percent think Atlantic City should handle these issues on its own, while 44 percent say New Jersey should step in and assume greater control.
This reverses last year’s view, when New Jerseyans solidly agreed that the state should help Atlantic City – though help at the time consisted only of a plan by an emergency management team and not an entire takeover.
“A number of New Jerseyans see both sides here, but public opinion is ultimately against the takeover legislation proposed by Governor Christie and state Senate President Sweeney,” said Ashley Koning, assistant director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University. “Whether this is due to residents’ issue with a state takeover of any kind or ever-fading hopes of a bright future for Atlantic City, it seems that the resort town is no longer treasured by New Jerseyans as it was decades ago.”
Regarding another controversial piece of Atlantic City-related legislation, Garden Staters still are divided on permitting gambling elsewhere in the state, though the balance has shifted since October 2014. Residents are now slightly more likely to think that gambling should be limited to Atlantic City (now at 49 percent, up six points) rather than believe it should be allowed elsewhere in the state (now at 44 percent, down three points).
Division over new casinos in other parts of New Jersey stems from respondents’ views of the potential effects these casinos could have. Fifty-seven percent feel that the presence of new casinos would hurt Atlantic City itself, while 21 percent believe they would help the town, and another 19 percent say they would make no difference. Additional casinos also are viewed more negatively when it comes to their impact on residents living nearby: 45 percent believe the additional casinos would hurt, while 34 percent say they would help and 16 percent think they would have no effect.
Yet a majority of New Jerseyans sees additional casinos as a positive influence on both tourism and the state economy. Fifty-five percent say adding casinos would help New Jersey with each.
Results are from a statewide poll of 801 adults contacted by live callers on both landlines and cell phones from Feb. 18 to 23, 2016. The sample has a margin of error of +/-3.9 percentage points. Interviews were done in English and, when requested, Spanish. To read the enire poll, click here.
EDITOR’S NOTE: ATTENTION POLITICAL, ASSIGNMENT EDITORS, Poll Assistant Director Ashley Koning may be contacted at 908-872-1186 (cell), 848-932-8940 (office), or akoning@rutgers.edu until 11 p.m. Poll Director David Redlawsk may be reached at 319-400-1134 (cell) or redlawsk@rutgers.edu. Find all releases at http://eagletonpoll.rutgers.edu, and visit our blog at http://eagletonpollblog.wordpress.com for additional commentary. Follow the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RutgersEagletonPoll and Twitter @EagletonPoll.